Electrochemical, morphological and microstructural characterization of carbon film resistor electrodes for application in electrochemical sensors

The electrochemical and microstructural properties of carbon film electrodes made from carbon film electrical resistors of 1.5, 15, 140 Ω and 2.0 kΩ nominal resistance have been investigated before and after electrochemical pre-treatment at +0.9 V vs SCE, in order to assess the potential use of these carbon film electrodes as electrochemical sensors and as substrates for sensors and biosensors. The results obtained are compared with those at electrodes made from previously investigated 2 Ω carbon film resistors. Cyclic voltammetry was performed in acetate buffer and phosphate buffer saline electrolytes and the kinetic parameters of the model redox system Fe(CN)₆^3−/4− obtained. The 1.5 Ω resistor electrodes show the best properties for sensor development with wide potential windows, similar electrochemical behaviour to those of 2 Ω and close-to-reversible kinetic parameters after electrochemical pre-treatment. The 15 and 140 Ω resistor electrodes show wide potential windows although with slower kinetics, whereas the 2.0 kΩ resistor electrodes show poor cyclic voltammetric profiles even after pre-treatment. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy related these findings to the interfacial properties of the electrodes. Microstructural and morphological studies were carried out using contact mode Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Confocal Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. AFM showed more homogeneity of the films with lower nominal resistances, related to better electrochemical characteristics. X-ray diffraction and Confocal Raman spectroscopy indicate the existence of a graphitic structure in the carbon films.     

Aquatic passive sampling of a short-term thiacloprid pulse with the Chemcatcher: impact of biofouling and use of a diffusion-limiting membrane on the sampling rate

We examined the performance of the Chemcatcher (University Portsmouth, UK) in two different configurations when used for the aquatic passive sampling of a 1-day pulse contamination with thiacloprid under field-relevant conditions. The configuration without diffusion-limiting membrane led to biofouling of the Empore disk receiving phase resulting in a fourfold reduction in analyte uptake compared to unfouled passive samplers. The sampling rate for the configuration with diffusion-limiting polyethersulfone membrane was also much lower than in a long-term exposure scenario, although no biofouling occurred. Both configurations of the Chemcatcher exhibited high variation in analyte uptake with up to 100% RSD. Short-term contamination events may be underestimated in passive sampling when the receiving phase is biofouled or a diffusion-limiting membrane is employed.     

Remarks on the Lax conjecture for hyperbolic polynomials

A conjecture of Lax [P. Lax, Differential equations, difference equations and matrix theory, Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 11 (1958) 175–194] says that every hyperbolic polynomial in two space variables is the determinant of a symmetric hyperbolic matrix. The conjecture has recently been proved by Lewis–Parillo–Ramana, based on previous work of Dubrovin and Helton–Vinnikov. In this note we prove related results for polynomials in several space variables which have rotational symmetries.     

Protein‐like Enwrapped Perylene Bisimide Chromophore as a Bright Microcrystalline Emitter Material

Strongly emissive solid‐state materials are mandatory components for many emerging optoelectronic technologies, but fluorescence is often quenched in the solid state owing to strong intermolecular interactions. The design of new organic pigments, which retain their optical properties despite their high tendency to crystallize, could overcome such limitations. Herein, we show a new material with monomer‐like absorption and emission profiles as well as fluorescence quantum yields over 90 % in its crystalline solid state. The material was synthesized by attaching two bulky tris(4‐tert‐butylphenyl)phenoxy substituents at the perylene bisimide bay positions. These substituents direct a packing arrangement with full enwrapping of the chromophore and unidirectional chromophore alignment within the crystal lattice to afford optical properties that resemble those of their natural pigment counterparts, in which chromophores are rigidly embedded in protein environments.